


and the incarnation was complete

by hapsburgs



Category: Gallagher Girls Series - Ally Carter
Genre: F/M, Post Series AU, United We Spy spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-18
Updated: 2013-09-18
Packaged: 2017-12-27 00:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/971896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hapsburgs/pseuds/hapsburgs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the first time in months, she feels alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and the incarnation was complete

**Author's Note:**

> oh well I refuse to believe Catherine is actually dead, and though I ship Abby/Townsend with my soul Catherine/Townsend is so intriguing ugh ugh. Well this is the first in a long line of fic probs. 
> 
> oh and the title is from the great gatsby because i can
> 
> FOR SHIRLEY YOU ASKED FOR IT GIRLFRIEND

For the first time in months, she feels _alive_.

It's a miracle that she is running as fast as she is, considering she was locked up in a cell for two months, wasting away. But now her feet are pounding silently on the forest floor, lungs _burning_ as she pushes herself harder and faster, deeper and deeper into the forest and away from her burning home.

She went to Gallagher, after all - she knew about bombs and explosives, and she certainly knew how to delay an explosion. No, she had no intention of dying in that fire - after all, wasn't she already dead?

So she had placed the bomb down and ran like hell out of there, towards the lake. Even as the explosion sent her flying, she kept running and running.

She glances behind her, seeing the crowds of survivors watching the castle burn. Though she wishes she could kill every single Gallagher Girl on the earth, make all of them pay for what they did to her, she knew the bomb wouldn't result in any casualties. It was much more symbolic than that.

She lets herself stop, lets herself watch the home she wished she had burn.

And she lets herself laugh, because after all these years, she has finally destroyed the very thing that destroyed her. There's almost tears in her eyes because this moment is incredibly bittersweet. She has longed for this for _ages,_ but it also saddens her; it was the end of a long, long mission.

And then there's a hand locked around her arm, and she curses herself for being so stupid.

"You're so clever aren't you, Catherine." The man turns her around, and she takes in Edward Townsend, his eyes bright and angry in the night.

"Going to bring me back to Gallagher, Townsend?" She grins slightly, trying to yank her wrist away from him, because just _maybe_ she can take him out and run for it.

"They all think you're dead. But I know how you operate, Catherine." He jerks her closer to him, and she gulps. "You love drama. And while perishing in a fire would be dramatic, it wouldn't be as dramatic as suddenly showing up months down the road, alive."

"Then why aren't you dragging me back to all your little friends at MI6?" She points out, glancing behind him, at the dark forest that she wishes would swallow her whole.

"I want to offer you a deal." He says through his teeth, his fingers digging in her arm hard enough to bruise.

"You can't be serious." She laughs slightly, relaxing, because this is the last thing she expected.

"Believe me, I wish I wasn't." Edward sighs.

"Then what, darling?"

"Don't _call me that._ " He seethes, practically breaking her arm with his grip, like he's grabbing the bone, and she subconsciously wonders how much weight she has lost in the last few months. "I'll offer you this; leave now, go wherever the hell you want, as long as you never, ever see any of us ever again. And I realize that may be hard for you, because you love to _tease_ all of us so much, but if you don't, I will drag you back to Gallagher kicking and screaming if I must, and you will live the rest of your life locked up, and you couldn't _stand_ that. You want your name to be big and mysterious."

"As it so happens," Then she pauses, because what are her plans now? She has no one, she has nothing. All the rage and hate she had inside of her has seeped out, disappeared. And now - and now she didn't know how she felt. "I think I'll restore my family's house in South Carolina. I grew up there, you know, and it has unfortunately fallen into disarray."

"Do that, then, but never speak to, or make contact with any of us ever again." He says firmly, letting go of her and stepping away.

He starts to jog back to Gallagher, and for a brief moment she feels so terribly, terribly alone. She always has been - without friends, without _anyone_ \- but she wasn't _really_ ; her bitterness and hatred were her constant companions. But now, now - she just felt so empty, and she has this sinking feeling that maybe she should have burned with Gallagher after all.

"You look good." She calls to him, and he stops and turns to face her in confusion.

"You look dreadful." He responds, and she blinks. She hasn't looked in a mirror in _ages_ , but she supposes he's right. She glances down at her dirty hands that to her surprise are shaking slightly. They're bony and thin, and in her estimation she probably looks like a skeleton.

"Solitary confinement will do that to a girl." She shrugs, and he starts to step away again, but she knows after he leaves, she'll be on her own with her fucked up mind for the rest of her life, and she doesn't know if she can handle that yet. "So you and Abby, huh? That's cute."

"Don't talk about Abby." He hisses, and she raises an eyebrow.

"Ooh, touchy." She giggles. "Well, you two are so _precious._ "

He slowly walks closer to her, so close she can feel his breath on her face, and when he speaks, he speaks lowly, like someone might hear them.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about Zach?"

And she can't help herself; she laughs.

"You're really asking me this now?"

"If I had known he existed, I would never-" He begins coldly.

"You would never have let him anywhere near me." She finishes. "We didn't exactly part on good terms. You were trying to kill me, if I remember correctly."

"Still, I would have been there for Zach. I would have been there...for you." He insists.

"Don't you dare pretend like you actually cared about me." She says through her teeth, feeling her stomach drop and her heart and lungs twist. She can not easily forget their time together, however brief.

"I _did_ care about you, against my better judgement." He says angrily, crossing his arms. "I was the only one who ever cared about you."

"Do you want a fucking medal?" She hisses, stepping closer to him.

"You don't get it, do you?" He shakes his head. "No one ever gave a shit about you, and you know that. But I did. The idiot I was, I did. And you were never even _grateful_. Do you know how crazy you actually are?"

"Shut up!" She screams, and he glances around in worry, as if someone could hear them this deep in the woods. " _Shut up._ " And all of a sudden she wants to stomp her feet and basically throw a tantrum like a child. "Don't you think I fucking know?"

"I'm sorry." He looks taken aback, and she turns away from him, because how the fuck is he supposed to know _anything?_ How could he have ever understood what it was like to be her? How could _anyone?_ No one knew what is was like to have such demons raging in their minds.

"See, this is why no one likes you, Catherine." Townsend reverts to his normal self, and she can feel herself cracking on the inside because the last time she felt this way, she was a student at the Gallagher Academy.

"You obviously did. Enough to sleep with me." She turns around, letting a small smile creep across her lips. "You told me, once, that you loved me. Do you remember?"

"I remember. And in that moment, I did." He says.

"Not anymore?" She asks, and he doesn't answer. There's a long silence, and she knows, and finally accepts, that she'll never see him again.

"I'll never see Zach again, will I?" She asks, but she knows the answer.

"Never." He shakes his head, and she sighs.

"Look after him for me, would you? Make sure he's...okay."

"He will be." Townsend says seriously, examining her carefully. She nods slightly in resignation, and she doesn't really know what else to do. So she embraces her impulsivity, places her hands on either side of his face and kisses him.

And it feels exactly like all those years ago, comfortable and laced with desire. He doesn't really do much of anything until she forces her tongue into his mouth, and then his hands grab her hands so gently, like she'll break.

"This is goodbye, isn't it?" She murmurs against his lips, and he gently pushes her away. It's just then when she feels the connection snap once and for all, and she knows she is officially alone.

"I can never see you again." He says sternly, but his eyes are soft. She starts to walk away from him, resolves herself not to look back.

"I loved you, you know." She stops, resting a hand on a nearby tree. "I know you think I'm lying, but I did love you."

"Goodbye, Catherine." He whispers, and she _hates_ the tears forming in her eyes, and her hand fists against the bark of tree, drawing blood.

She waits until his footsteps fade away, and then she starts running again.

That's all she'll do for the rest of her life, she knows;

_Run._


End file.
